Chapter IV: Dreams Come True?
It was too late. The swift and discreet sound of the switchblade being put away and the scuffle of the holster being shifted rang in her ears. There was no turning back. She had tried. She had almost succeeded. Now she was fumbling for the lock of the door and whimpering like a coward; the coward she hadn't been raised to be.
Her mother would have been worried if she was still alive, but no. Her mother was dead. Assassination, of course. What better way to get rid of the wife of a prominent government official? She mentally berated herself. How could she be thinking so pessimistically at a time like this.
He was after her again.
He wanted her again.
The click of the gun's lock releasing set her spine on fire, and the shiver that passed made itself known prominently. 'Oh no, no, no,' she thought frantically, beginning to tug on the handle more and more. The gun in her other hand was at its last bullet and she didn't want to fire unless absolutely necessary. 'Dang it,' she thought in despair.
When the hollow footsteps stopped just behind her, Kagome knew she had to turn around. Close fire wasn't the best thing for killing someone properly, but she had to take her chances. Steeling herself and taking a deep breath, she spun on her heel and in that instant, the hand which had been tugging on the door handle flicked to reveal a small retractable dagger from her sleeves. She growled when she swung her knife-occupied hand toward the man's unprotected side. Her other hand forced the gun out in front of her, aiming at his bare chest.
The young woman saw him stiffen slightly. Good; he was wary of her again. 'Just how it should be,' she thought menacingly.
But she was so busy within her thoughts that she did not feel the pressure on her wrist, the one with the retractable dagger. When he smirked, a pain shot through her right arm. He had a tight grip, that was for sure. Her breath hitched and she tried to pull away.
"Come now, Kagome. Things aren't so bad," he purred out. That voice had always worked until she had realized his true nature. Another unwanted shiver passed through her.
His gun was raised to her forehead. 'How wonderful,' she chastised herself. In order to get out of this mess, she had stressed her only option and that only option had a weakness which he knew. And he had used it to his advantage.
"Damn you."
"Tsk, tsk, lover. Now get back in the bed."
Her eyes flashed with a cold anger, smothering all other emotions around them. She wouldn't be used! She wasn't a bed toy. She didn't want that. Rape wasn't what she wanted for her life!
"Take the dagger brace off, drop the gun, and get back in bed."
His words were not to be taken lightly.
She shuddered as the gun slowly slipped from her warm small hands to clatter to the floor. She hadn't even gotten the chance to release the clip. 'Damn it.' With one hand empty and limp, she stared dispassionately at her traitorous wrist. Why could she not feel his grip when he had caught her wrist? Nothing seemed right here, in this scenario...
When she made no move, the man locked his gun and slipped it into the holster. He pulled her closer so that he could undo the leather straps and slid the blade back into its hiding place. It clattered to the hardwood in a dark sound expressing distaste. She turned away from his scarlet gaze and prayed earnestly that he wouldn't do as he had said.
"Go. Get back into bed." As an after-thought, he added, "And don't leave the bed either." He tugged on her wrist, which he still held captive, and twisted her so she stumbled toward the large silk covered bed.
"Leave me alone!" She hissed loudly, without facing him. She hadn't moved after she regained equilibrium.
Before she knew what had happened, two arms had wrapped around her from behind and carried her squirming body over to the bed. She was held down by the man's own body weight and even though her mind knew what was coming, her body panicked with the emotion only ignited by anticipation and fear.
While she was held down he unlatched his belt holding various discreet weapons and tossed it to the floor beside the bed. He pulled his pants down and threw them across the room, soon doing the same with her clothes. They ripped easily and she shifted uncomfortably, making him grin in anticipation.
'Aw, man, now look at what I did,' she blushed and couldn't help but look at the results. Her blush began anew. 'No, no, no! I don't think these things about evil people!'
"I won't play this ridiculous game anymore!" She shouted before his lips came crashing down on hers in a bruising kiss. The air was knocked out of her lungs and her body convulsed in distaste.
Suddenly she could breathe again. The man shifted into an all too familiar pose. His voice haunted her mind's corridors.
"But I thought you loved the game of Cat and Mouse, Kagome?"
He pushed into her quickly and without warning; pain lanced up her spine and she arched, letting out a pitiful scream.
C&M
Kagome pushed up from the surface she had been lying on, screaming with a morbid whine and drenched in a cold sweat. No matter how many ways she tried, the memories wouldn't go away. That damned spider in the bathroom had brought the memories back up. How could that tiny thing...?
He was the hunter and she was the prey; and no matter how many jewels she stole, she knew that she could never become the hunter to right what had gone wrong in her past.When she took the time to look around, she realized that she was back in her penthouse on the large white curved sofa with a beige blanket pooled at her waist. She was no longer wearing her outfit from at the club but was in one of her baggy nightshirts and that made her blush. Who could have changed her?
The questions running through her mind were answered when she heard the sounds of explosions coming from the part of her living room where another sofa and the television was set up. In the dim lighting of the room, she saw the figure of InuYasha watching her with his bright amber eyes. She smiled wanly and lifted up her left arm in greeting. He replied in silent like.
"What happened, Inu-chan?"
"Why were you screaming?"
He didn't answer her question.
"First, what happened to me?" Kagome added a glare to get her point across.
"You fainted, plain and simple. You had been pouring lime juice into a drink mixing cup and then suddenly you passed out. You were mumbling about spiders and ocean eyes..." He trailed off, sounding uncertain.
Ocean eyes? Who was-? Then she stopped herself. The cocky customer at the bar had- what she thought- were 'ocean coloured eyes'. And spiders? The spider from the bathroom. And him.
"Thank you, InuYasha," she whispered tentatively.
"Now can you tell me why I'm missing Escaflowne because of your screaming? You wake up, and you look like you took a midnight swim, screaming and-"
A large sofa pillow hit the silver haired man on the forehead, toppling him over.
"Hey! Don't do that! Besides, there are people below who like their quiet at around 1:30 in the morning." His 'hmph' was slightly endearing. He cared about her, and he cared about the people who couldn't pay for a home as good as hers... Oh, and that they all needed plenty of sleep.
"Fine. It was... it was ju-just that dream again. The one I told you was a recurring memory that I couldn't repress... That's all it was."
InuYasha had heard the trembling as he watched her turn away from his vision. Kagome couldn't look at him. It was another of the side effects of that dream or whatever she had gotten into as a little girl. He knew he could not do a thing until she trusted him.
And that would be quite a long way off since he knew she didn't even trust herself.
Memories did bad things to peoples' sanity, after all.
"You know I won't pry. When you are okay, in the future, you know I'll still be alive to hear you cry. And I'll be here to cry on too, FYI." Wide eyes looked up into his and he gave a small smile, a twinkle of emotion in his eyes. "Why don't you go back to your bedroom and get a real bed-night's rest. You worked hard..."
She nodded but still did not say a word. Standing and folding the large sofa blanket was a habit and so she slipped it back into place on the sofa's decor before turning away to her bedroom and began her slow pace. His voice stopped her.
"You did great tonight, despite all of the annoying guys there."
Kagome smiled slightly and turned back to continue her small journey. Finally arriving, she plopped down onto her queen-sized bed and fell into a more restful slumber.
C&M
Awaking to blinding white midday sunlight through glass was not her favourite past-time, and so she rolled away and dragged the covers over her head. Suddenly a loud buzzing rang through the room and hit her ear nerves, making her wince in displeasure. Kagome slapped her hand down and sighed contentedly when the noise halted. Eyelids thought to be glued shut opened slowly and looked at the wall with one of her dressers against it.
Those handles look quite lovely. I should get all of the house handles in that same style...
The young woman stretched and stood up from her bed, ready to start her usual morning routine even though it was the last thing she really planned to do.
When she came out of the bathroom fully dressed and in the process of drying her hair, her doorbell rang. Slightly startled, she swung her head in the direction of the rest of her penthouse, curious as to who would be here this early. She trotted over to the front door and pulled it open to reveal a boy not but two inches taller than her with dark brown eyes and blackish-brown hair pulled back at the base of his neck.
"Kohaku!"
Before any other words were spoken, he dragged the young woman into an embrace. "Hey, Kagome," he breathed onto her neck. "I heard Sango and InuYasha talking about last night at the club..."
She smiled from behind him. He was always so caring, despite his attitude of innocence. And he was her best friend; Sorry Sango, he came first... "Thanks Kohaku, but you know I'm fine."
"Yes you are," he whispered huskily into her ear and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck.
"Oh my gosh! That was so cheesy!" Kagome laughed buoyantly.
"That's what I'm here for. Ya know... you scared Sango. She passed out too, worried sick when you just hit the floor "with a thud"."
Eyes cast down toward the beautiful white carpet in shame. "Did you hear InuYasha?" She whispered.
"Dreams..."
Kagome bobbed her head up and down slowly. "When he-"
The girl in his arms choked on her words and he patted and rubbed her back to calm her down. "That night, again. You know he won't come after you again, right? He's out of your life."
"That's just it, Kohaku!" She spoke urgently, pulling away from him. "He's not out of my life! And I know he's after me still; I can feel it. I... Well... it's the connection we share. It can't be help–"
"Don't say it can't be helped, damn it! And don't talk about that stupid connection! You don't have one with him... If anything, you have a connection with me!" Kohaku turned his eyes away, unable and unwilling to look his friend in the eyes.
"Kohaku-!"
"So what if I'm being over-dramatic. I've been here to help you and keep you protected," the young man hissed. "I've given you things to keep you safe all the while you stealing jewels. Even if you won't come to me, I know that he's not going to come after you. Don't push me away anymore. I'm here. I'm here, Kagome..."
"But you just don-"
"Oh, come off it! You still think you're protecting me by not letting me know everything. I may know more than the others but I don't know everything that I should... and it's making me sick." His eyes pierced her and froze her to the spot with the malice that shone in their depths. No, that malice was not directed at her, but it still hurt to see it. Her Kohaku had always been a devious but cheerful young man with the brains to conquer the world.
"You're not upset that you weren't first, right...?"
"The only thing that matters is that I have you at all. I don't care if I wasn't first, because I actually have you, all of you, and not just physically.
"But I know you don't like me that way anymore, so of course there's no harm done. Since I am your best friend forever and ever, right?" Kohaku's tone became sly.
"Eh, heh. Yes, Kohaku. Are you sure you're all right?" The tense atmosphere had settled back into its peaceful state from before.
"The question is: are you all right, Kagome?" He shot back.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Fine, then I'll be on my way. I have to go salvage some metal scraps. Do you like lazers, Kagome?" He had separated greatly, moving toward the front door with her still standing in place and sinking into the plush carpet.
"Not really, but I could use one. You know I like to collect things." The twinkle in her eyes told him of what she was speaking.
"Yeah. Like guys- ex boyfriends, enemies, and suitors..."
"Get out!"
His laughter rang through the hallways as the young man shut the penthouse front door. Kagome couldn't help but smile. He was right, after all.
C&M
It was almost six in the evening when Kagome sat down at the cool wooden desk, sighing weakly. Getting down to business was the most important thing at the moment. She pulled open the right-side drawer and slipped a stack of folders and papers out. Opening the cover of the top-most folder, a slight gasp escaped her lips. From what her eyes scanned, there were tons of places listed, varying from prominent restaurants to old crumbling buildings. Before she read anymore, she flipped the page.
Names of Japan's government officials were listed. She flipped past three pages. Names of Germany's prominent law officials. Another two pages. Names of members of the French Military and Church priests. A back section of the folder suddenly un-clipped and slipped into her lap. Her eyes opened wide as she stared blankly at the kanji.
The United States Ambassadors...
When Kagome flipped the pages back towards the front, she put the excess folder aside. Her eyes scanned the first page once more. There were buildings and addresses along with dates. The date from four days ago- when she had retrieved the Hope Diamond and the Star of the East- was listed. It came as no surprise to see the warehouse's address listed as well, the kanji typed plainly, almost as if it was unwanted on the page.
"This is one big joke," she whispered.
She reorganized the papers and closed the first folder. All of the others, she saw had sloppy kanji scribbled out names of countries, but the first caught her attention. 'Transgressions and Debtors.'
The cover flap was peeled back cautiously, afraid of transgressions listed. Maybe assassinations? Robbing liquor stores? Gang shoot-outs? Red-light district whore murdered in cold blood?
Her face...
"My face..." Her young features were staring up at her from a photograph she recognized well. She was smiling jovially, one of her ex-boyfriends clinging to her form. Kagome shuddered.
Why was she in this folder? And all of her vital statistics? Oh, there was her list of 'transgressions'...
Stealing the heart of man?
Slaughtering souls?
This was ridiculous! She only stole jewels, not 'the heart of man,' and when had she even slaughtered a human's body?
Why is all of this stuff listed? And- Kagome paused in her thinking. There was a list of all men she had ever known on a better-than-acquaintances level. Miroku was listed. Kohaku- Oh, God, no!- was listed. Sesshoumaru and InuYasha, and Ryuuza were listed.
This can't be happening!
Another name caught her eye: Akitoki Hojou. The date next to his name was even more of a grounder. Why that date? Oh, she knew why. It was the date Hojou had been killed and found dead in an alley. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. This was a hit list; it was a hit list of all of the young men she had ever come to know. It was my fault. Because I met him, Hojou was killed...
She knew it was him. She knew it was him because he was the only other one who had access to that picture. That picture had been meant only for the two of them, and now it was being passed around by high-ranking illegal businessmen; apparently killers.
More tears splattered the denim of her flare jeans. This is a joke! It can't be possible! Kagome slammed the papers down and stood up abruptly, knocking the chair over with an immeasurable force. She turned away and ran to find her phone, any phone. She had to warn Kohaku when she went after these people. Finding out what was going on would be necessary. And she needed to warn her male friends to be wary of strangers and keeping up alarm systems of some kind. I'll ask Kohaku, he'll do that to protect everyone.
Eh, added wryly. Sesshoumaru doesn't need protecting. He doesn't even die after three deep knife wounds and seven bullets to the chest...No one can get rid of him...
With that last thought, she dialed.
Author's Note: Good chapter. Moo if you're happy I posted.
FYI, Akitoki is the last name of the ancestor of the present-time Hojou of the anime. At least that's what the website said (since Hojou's sir name isn't listed anywhere. Dang it.